Wednesday, 28 August 2013

On my review blog, the books that gain a 4-star mark or higher 'win' a spot on WWBB, and I was impressed by Garry Roger's novel Cor Syl the Warrior enough by giving it a 4-star review.

I found it refreshing, extremely unique with funny, laugh-out-loud moments, too. It's targeted at YA, but anybody who enjoy hard fantasy will like this book.

The origin of Cor Syl the Warrior - in Garry Roger's words:

'The idea for this book came from the news, the bad news: The bad weather, spreading extinctions, and always the hunger, hate, and war. The Tsaeb (silent 'T', long 'a') have the intelligence and foresight needed to avoid global scarcity and inequity, but random events can always block perfection. Characters like Corr Syl (as in apple 'core' and door 'sill') are often driven to struggle against the forces of chance, greed, and evil as they attempt to protect perfection—an impossible assignment.

However, all of that wasn't enough to make me start writing. My ideal book includes action, adventure, romance, danger, and a bit of humor. I decided to write that book. The other stuff just adds a little meaning to the story.'

Dr. Garry Rogers writes about an Earth on which intelligence appeared long before humans in Corr Syl the Warrior.

He also writes non fiction articles, and wildlife and nature conservation books. Before turning to full-time writing, he served on the faculties of UCLA and Columbia University in New York, and he served as CEO of an academic computing corporation.

Sunday, 25 August 2013

My
marketing started with the writing of my book. I always had a plan, an idea of
the plot, but now I had to think about the characters and setting, and I had to
think about my target audience in this stage.

I wanted
characters who readers could relate to. Characters that were real, not
fictional to the point of unbelievable. My protagonist, Calvin Watters, is as
real as they come, with faults and weaknesses like us all. Because of my sports
background, I wanted Calvin to also have an athletic background. I was a pro
hockey player, but I decided that hockey would be fine for a Canadian fan base,
but I wanted to cater worldwide, so I chose football. I believe that more
people follow football than hockey.

For the
setting, I needed a major market in the United States that people would want to
read about, so I chose Sin City, Las Vegas. Everyone is interested in this
fast-paced, party-all-night lifestyle and city that is party-central.

In today’s
society, most people don’t realize that writing a book is more than just
putting a good story down on paper. I learned this quickly. Agents and
publishers want someone with a “platform”, someone who already has a fan base
and is guaranteed to sell books. It’s risky for a publisher to take a chance on
a new writer, because there is no telling how many books they will sell, no
matter how good that book may be.

In 1999 I
graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Marketing, so
I felt I had a running start at promoting my work.

It took me
two years (working around full time jobs) to complete the first draft of my
novel.

I’m going
to skip through the writing phase and seeking and agent/publisher, because this
post is about actually marketing my début novel.

Once my
publishing contract was signed, then the real work began, building my
“platform”. I knew that when I signed on with a smaller publisher that the bulk
of the promotion load would fall on my shoulders, and I accepted that.

I did four
things quickly: created my own website, started a blog, and opened a Facebook
page and Twitter account.

Now, I have
been fortunate to have had many jobs in my life, jobs that have created
interest in not only myself, but what I do.

Here are
some things I did next:

-I
scribed a letter to all of my email contacts (2500) and all of my FB friends
(2500).

-I
scribed a letter for all of the media outlets (radio, TV, print) in the cities
where I played hockey, or have contacts. One of the benefits of playing
professional hockey was that I went through a lot of interviews with
personalities in all forms of media.

-I
picked out the site for my launch party and spoke with the owner about it.

-I
played hockey for teams and leagues all over North America, creating a fan base
in a variety of cities, and also worked in hockey camps, so I already had some
followers that I contacted.

-I
was a reporter on the radio for a couple of years after retiring from hockey,
and my radio reporting was a presence on the web as well as in radio.

-My
sports column (2006-2009), Overtime, which was a main feature in The Pontiac
Equity, not only had a following but helped in writing concise and exciting
prose.

-I
composed a list of local stores for potential book signings.

-I
compiled a list of local stores to sell my book.

Next I picked out my target audience and
searched the web for them:

- Thriller readers looking for an atypical thriller hero—an African-American who is no saint.

- Sports fans will be fascinated by Watters’ struggle to recover his decency and win, a kind of Blind Side story with little sentimentality and few illusions.

- A Las Vegas setting—the world of The Hangover movies and many youth films like Bridesmaids—will appeal to 20s-30s readers.

- Watters’ romance with a former prostitute will appeal to younger female readers.The marital tension between Detective Dayton and his wife will interest adults. Both men and women will enjoy the twist on the femme fatale figure of the murderer’s lover, who has her own schemes.

-Lovers of history, as the term,
“Dead Man’s Hand”, is a legend dating back to the Wild West of the 1800's.

I started creating relationships on the
internet through Facebook and Twitter. I met not only authors, but fans of the
genres I write.

When my book was released in October, 2012,
I felt I had a solid foundation to stand on, but I still had a long way to go.

I contacted media for interviews, held book
signings, joined shows and blog toured. I contacted anyone who wrote a blog and
asked about being a guest. I joined Pinterest, Linkedin, and Google +, as well
as sites created to support Indie authors. I did anything I could to get my
name out there, get my book in front of readers.

My publisher set up special promotions
where my book was FREE on Amazon for certain periods of time. All of this was
done to increase my following, and expand the awareness of my book on a
worldwide scale. This will hopefully lead to future sales with not only my
debut novel, but subsequent books if I’ve fortunate enough to write more.

I’ve been happy with the result thus far, but
I don’t have anything to compare it to. I feel that the more books I write, the
more success I will have. The more I get out there, the more excitement and
interest is garnered.

Tuesday, 20 August 2013

So you’ve written a manuscript. You had it
professionally edited. You’ve got a great cover design. You’ve had it published
in paperback and eBook forms, and it’s been uploaded to Amazon. Great! Now
what? Sit back, relax, perhaps twiddle your thumbs a bit, and wait for those
royalties to come pouring in, right?

The fact is that no one is going to come looking for
your book, no matter how well written, how engaging, or how action-packed it is
unless you, the author, makes it happen!

Hey let’s face it, obscurity is not an option when
you’ve published a book. The competition is fierce—and the competition is using
all the resources that perhaps you are not. There is no doubt that marketing is
an indie’s biggest hurdle, but you can’t afford to be shy or stuck in the
nineteenth century. I’m not saying that marketing one’s book is insurmountable,
but it can be hard to get started. Book stores are not usually very willing to
arrange a signing for indie writers because they are relatively unknown—they’d
rather have James Patterson, go figure. However, some local libraries may be willing
to host an event for you. That’s nice, but that doesn’t tend to spread the word
to a large mass of people. And that’s exactly what your need.

So what’s an author to do?

Brace yourself, because I’m about to say the S word: Social Networking. Yikes! You may
consider it a dirty word, but I’m afraid it's truly the reality of our time. Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin,
Pininterest, it’s enough to make an author’s head spin! After all, it has been
widely rumored that authors are quite a recluse lot. The trick is to not allow
it to overwhelm or intimidate you—no matter what your age. The bottom line is it's your responsibility as an author to get
the word out about your book—not your
publisher—you.

Actually, I’ve seen quite a few traditionally
published and even best selling authors on the networks pushing their books as
well. So it’s my guess that their publishers feel the same way—get the word
out, baby!

So stiff upper lip, pull yourself up by your
bootstraps, and do what you need to do to make that book of yours a success.
Because you can.

If you don’t have a website—get one. You need it!
There are plenty of website options out there and some are free. List your
books—with covers, a synopsis, provide an excerpt, and yes do a book trailer,
to boot! You can make one right there on your computer—it’s easy and it’s
actually a lot of fun.

Okay, now that you have a website, you need a…wait for
it…Facebook page! I have two FB pages: one in my name
where I talk about my life—nothing too personal—and one for my books. On both
pages I will announce reviews and provide links to those reviews or my books,
and sometimes I will post pictures of my horses just for fun. There are also FB
pages that are provided for authors to promote their books. On all these FB
pages I will also list blogs that I am featured at—like today—another excellent way to get the word out about
your book—I also plug the blog site to draw in readers.

And then there are VirtualBook Tours—virtual book tours help you to promote not only your book but
you—the author— without having to leave the comfort of your sofa. You have
control as to how long the tour is: two weeks, one month, or the max—three
months. How they work is that for approximately three times a week you will visit a blog
for an author spotlight, a review, interview, or a guest post on a variety of
subjects. The guest post will spotlight how well you write beyond the pages of
your book. That’s important. It also provides potential readers an insight as
to who you are and what you think or believe. While this service is not free,
you can decide how much you want to spend by the length of the tour.

LinkedIn is a great place to post a blurb about your
book on a daily basis. I usually write something like: Whoa! Those online romances
can be real murder! And then I list
the link to where my potential audience can purchase DEADLY.COM I went from
selling hardly any of this particular book to making it my best selling novel
at this time—especially in the UK.

Then there’s Twitter *wince*. I thought I would
never get the hang of that nightmare social networking demon. I thought it was
stupid. Then I thought: but there are sooo many authors using it. Hey, there’s
got to be something to it. So I started
following people—mainly authors—they would retweet my book blurbs—I would
retweet back---this would result in book sales. Hmmm. I followed more—retweeted
more—additional book sales. Who knew? I
am now tweeting approximately three to four times per day. It only takes about
ten minutes, and the payoff has been well worth it.

Pssst…I’ve even got my publishing manger tweeting more
than she ever did before. To tell you the truth, she probably hates me for it,
but she has realized how invaluable it is for her and her cozy mysteries. She
too has experienced a sharp rise in sales. Go baby go!

It’s true, I spend a lot of time per day promoting my
books on the social networks—it’s a commitment. But hey, didn’t you make a
commitment to the book when you wrote it? You love your characters. You love
your stories, so help send them get to the masses.

There’s the light at the end of the very long indie tunnel—it
can and will work!

Since I’ve been using Twitter on a daily basis,
following as many people with an interest in books, tweeting and retweeting
other authors, using hashtags, and writing something about my books on my FB pages and LinkedIn, my book sales have truly improved!

C’mon, don’t be shy. Get out of that “I am NOT going
anywhere near social networking sites” demeanor. You CAN do this. Only you have
the power. You’ve worked hard. So step up to the plate and take a swing at making
your book into everything you wanted it to be—a success!

Thursday, 15 August 2013

Social Media

Social media is probably the most
powerful marketing tool for writers. It gives you free access to millions of
potential readers. Business owners tend to dive head long into social media
expecting to see huge results in short periods of time. That is simply not the
case. It takes patience in order to build up a presence on social media. Here
are a couple of frequently asked questions.

How important is Social Media to Authors?

It’s not just important, it’s absolutely
essential for writers to establish themselves in the social media world. Here
are some of the reasons why:

Brand Building

Social media is perhaps the most
powerful brand building platform in the marketing world. You can use it to
decide the manner in which you want people to perceive you as a writer. If you
don’t find a way to make readers feel that your books are in demand, then you
will not sell very many copies.

Thriving Community of Readers

Social media brings with it a diverse
and cultivating community. It puts millions of potential readers right at your
fingertips. When you build a community, you are guaranteeing that future
opportunities will be more successful.

Gives you Authority as an Author

Without being active through social
media, you will not be able to garner the authority needed to convince readers
to buy your books. Authority is especially important if you are a non-fiction
writer.

Competitive Advantage

The
truth is that a lot of individuals don’t do a good job with social media.
Therefore, keeping on top of it will give you a significant advantage. When
starting out as an author, you need all of the advantages you can get.

What is the Best Social Media Platform

There
are so many opinions as to the best platform to use that it’s a bit of a toss
up as to which one you should use. Here are the three you should be most
concerned about:

Facebook

Twitter

LinkedIn

Facebook

If
you don’t know what Facebook is then you must be living under a rock. It’s the
granddaddy of the social media world. You should definitely have an account
with an author page. Just be sure to make your profile and page come across as
professional. The trick to simplifying Facebook is to use your author fan page
to promote new books as opposed to creating pages for each book you release.
Only do that when you can afford to hire a team to manage your Facebook
accounts.

Twitter

Another
great (and necessary) platform for writers is Twitter. Fans absolutely love to
be engaged by authors. Twitter lets you easily connect and sometimes reply to
readers in a more personal way. In addition, you can effectively get your fans
to advertise for you through retweets.

LinkedIn

Finally,
we come to LinkedIn. Many tend to skip over this ever-important platform of
social media. If you’re trying to get signed by a traditional publisher, a
LinkedIn account is necessary. Publishers are guaranteed to search through
LinkedIn once they read your query letter. If they don’t find you on, then you
will likely be ignored.

Final Tips for Social Media

Let’s
end this article on a few quick tips of some things you should keep in mind
when using social media.

Don’t Spam your Fans

Spamming
is the fastest way to scare off fans (or send them storming off in rage). In
the social media world, if you only ever post that people should buy your books
or products, then you are spamming. So most of your posts should be fun and
entertaining posts, with a few promotions scattered throughout.

Be Consistent

You
can be as active with social media as you want but I do recommend that you at
least add one post a week. However, stay consistent. If you plan on posting
once a week, then make sure you do so. Don’t go weeks without posting.

Never bite off more than you can chew

In
other words, don’t try and do too much. Maintain a schedule and only spend a
limited time on social media.

Saturday, 10 August 2013

There is one obvious universal
truth for writers. We want to write. The only relationship status we want to
update is the one with Microsoft Word or if you’re feeling old-school a
typewriter. Sadly, the world has changed. Authors can no longer just write a
novel, send it, and publish… or not, unless you’re J. K Rowling, at least.

The truth is you absolutely need to
social network. You need to be so in touch with your network you know what time
zones your friends and fans are in just by their response times.

Judy Ann McCole

WHY?

Because there are seven billion
people on this earth and of those 7 billion, 1.2 billion of them are Facebook
alone. 1.2 billion people! You, from your desk, have the capability to speak
with millions of people on a daily basis just by clicking 'log in'. Now, before I
jump ahead of myself I should explain how you, as an author, should begin to
social network.

FACEBOOK

Chances are you already have Facebook.
But make a second one with your pen name or your regular name with ‘author’
attached.

Make sure your profile image you use for your author account is the one your fans
will notice.

With your new account, make a fan
page for your book. That way if you ever want to run ads people will be driven straight
to your book and then, if they want, look you up.

WHY?

Your family and friends have
already heard you talk about your books dozens of times. You don’t want your
personal account to be flooded with comments nor do you want those close to you
to hide your post because all you ever do is talk about your book.

Also, with your author account you
can join groups (and there are a lot of groups) for writers and authors.

TWITTER

Twitter is difficult for authors;
well it was for me, because a 140-character limit just felt ridiculous and I
had no idea what to tweet. I did not want to be one of those people who tweeted
“it’s raining” or “I’m going to the mall”.

Twitter is a great way to let
people know about your books and anything else you may doing. Because many
people tweet almost hourly they don’t mind sharing your tweets or even
commenting back.

More people are more like to read
your post on twitter then on Facebook because they know it will be short and
sweet.

Twitter gets easier the more you
use it. One Tweet a day keeps the fans coming your way.

Lastly, you don’t want anyone
pretending to be you if you don’t have one.

BLOGS

THIS IS HUGE!! All writers need
one! Believe me. Trust me. Listen to me. If you’re a writer you need a blog.

Not only did blogging help Amanda
Hocking (a self-published novelist) get attention but it has also helped
writers express creative ideas.

The very first thing my publishers
told me to do when I signed with them was publish a blog and link it to my
website.

If you go to any recent author’s website,
you will notice they have a blog. People want to follow you but you have to
give them a chance.

Can you sell books without all of this? Yes. It’s possible, in
fact some authors do. However, if there is a chance for you to get more readers
why not do so?

Why not try and be social?

All I ask is DO NOT insult any of your fans/readers.

Some people are idiots and will friend/follow you just to post
stupid things. Ignore and delete but NEVER RESPOND!

DO NOT trash other authors! Your readers may take that personally
if they happen to like them.

It’s a lot to juggle I know. However, since starting my blog I’ve
gained 1000+ twitter and blog followers… and my books aren’t even out yet.

Sunday, 4 August 2013

For us authors, social media is important.
Not only are we able to keep readers and friends up-to-date with our writing but also with the life events of others. Currently, it is impossible for
me to travel so social media allows me to reach my destinations from the
comfort of home, and I love that opportunity it's given me.

In the past few years, there has been a huge
shift to the Internet. Blog tours are a great example of this and an excellent way
to promote your books. How it works is that the author visits several blogs and
they are introduced to a new audience.

I have heard of authors who have been made into bestsellers
just because of social media.It’s a tool in the authors’ promotional
toolkit that should not be overlooked. Although, we have to be careful. When I
get continuing posts from individuals trying to sell me products, I must admit, I tune out. When that happens, we are losing a potential relationship. For
myself, I plug Ice Rose during the holiday buying season and for blog tours or
events. Just enough to keep my book out there, but not enough to cause offence.

Like most authors worldwide, I like to share activities and
events that are going on with my career, but my blog isn't only focused on writing, it's also about the arts and crafts. A writer once advised me
to post a new blog every two weeks, but I find this challenging. Finding fresh
topics can be difficult and I wonder how other bloggers manage it.

And, I admit, when I write my posts, I do
not always focus on how worldwide social media can reach. So when, few years ago,
I posted a blog on a cookie bouquet that I was making, and received a comment
from a reader in Germany I was very shocked and pleased.

Thursday, 1 August 2013

Outside of death and taxes, the only thing for certain we can count, on is change!

My day job happens to be a funeral home owner/director for both humans and pets. Some people may find this profession to be a bid odd, morbid or even down right depressing. Me, well, I find it incredibly fascinating. I get to learn interesting information about people. Not things like where they were born, or how many children they have (although that type of learning can be very interesting), I’m talking about things that really impacted their life.

It’s the 21st century, and presently our population, has more people over the age of 65 than ever before. In our funeral home, it’s not uncommon that we are taking care of centurions, nonagenarians and octogenarians.

While I was writing Navigating the Eldercare Journey…without going broke! I had the pleasure of talking to one lady who was in her 90’s who came in to pre-plan her funeral. As we were capturing information, I asked her what was the biggest thing she had experienced that changed her quality of life. Her answer was “paved roads”. Many of the stories she remembers as young child revolve around traveling in a covered wagon. This response leads me to ask about her other inventions such as the television, which in her lifetime went from a large black and white monstrosity to the digital television we have today.

This very wise lady got my interest peeked and forced me to reflect on what has impacted my life. In all candor, both personally and professionally speaking, I can say technology. Through the use of technology, I was able to pen and publish Navigating the Eldercare Journey…without going broke! in less than 18 months. The internet enabled me to communicate with my publisher, editor and even public relations team in real time. It’s only been within the last 20 years that the internet has been utilized to by the general public and not just the military. Think about how many things technology has changed! Books are now available in a digital format as well a paper bound format. The newspaper in some cases has all but physically gone away and has transformed into digital. How about social media? If you had asked me just 10 years ago what social media was, I don’t think I would be able

to answer that question. In a very short period, this concept we have labeled “social media” has transformed the way everyone communicates. Heck, there are now even college degrees that revolve strictly around social media.

As a small business owner and author, the invention or platform of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google have provided more affordable tools at my fingertips, which can provide an incredible experience for my consumer. As an author, the ability to have readers place reviews about my book on Amazon is incredible. Creating a Facebook page for my book that challenges me to create a fan base only inspires me to become a more efficient communicator. Social media, if used properly can be a powerful tool. The only downside I can see is that once you put something out there, there is no turning back, it’s there for the world, and I mean world, to see.

What is critical is to find the balance where your posts are consistent, but not over the top in terms of length of posts or frequency. Twitter promotes brevity, but can be difficult to understand all the tweet terms and protocols.

Facebook has a wonderful business page side that allows people to create pages (book’s page). It also has wonderful “how to” sections to learn how to market your book to your target audience. I love the fact that it allows you to upload videos, create polls and even have private email conversations with your readers. Amazon’s author page has some of these tools, but not all of them. My next venue will be to learn Goodreads and begin to promote my book.

Blogging has turned into an interesting animal, if you will. It seems the rules for engagement change to the point of really anything goes. Blogs are turning out to be powerful. Initially, they reminded me of an online brochure – now, they are becoming just as important as your website. Think about this – the fact that my book is on a virtual book tour is still difficult for me to wrap my mind around. The internet really is changing the face of communication, business, relationships, education, recreation – and the list goes on.

So in closing, what’s my point? My point is that as an author and a small business owner, I have found both writing Navigating the Eldercare Journey…without going broke! and running the business is far easier than promoting. I find social media a double edge sword. It can, and if done correctly, provide a solid platform to market from and establish a relationship with your target audience. The challenge is monetizing it. We know that social media will encourage people to act on purchasing your book or seeking out your services, but what we don’t know is how many social media touch points it takes for that action. Like anything else, once we figure that out the information will be yesterday’s news, as at the end of the day, the only thing certain besides death and taxes, is change!